#172: Mode 7's Paul Kilduff-Taylor

The Game Design Round Table

Paul Kilduff-Taylor from Mode 7, join David and Dirk for a discussion about the games Tokyo 42 and Frozen Synapse. They dive deep into some of the key decision drivers for these games as well as some history of the game industry since 2005, and where it is headed. They also touch on Paul's thought provoking article on Medium, "Playing With Toys While People are Dying"---------------------Paul Kilduff-Taylor - @mode7games, www.mode7games.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron---------------------Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, [e-mail]---------------------Episode Outline 0:17 - Paul's Background in the games industry 1:14 - What is the game Tokyo 42 about? 2:26 - Is the amount of killing in the game intentional? 3:48 - Frozen Synapse has a smaller scope, why? 5:55 - Discussion on the 'Charm' between Tokyo 42 and Frozen Synapse 8:13 - Is frustration and simultaneous turn design a conscious decision in your games? 10:21 - Frozen Synapse 2; why make another? 12:55 - Buy a game, get a give away; how does that work? 15:30 - What are the challenges with indie develops getting visibility 18:56 - What was going on in 2005 that brought the company together? 19:59 - Torque game engine history 21:48 - Introversion as a factor 22:44 - British game industry; how has the scene changed? 24:58 - Larger North American studios shutting down and its impact 26:44 - Procedural content generation 28:07 - Article in Medium "Playing With Toys While People are Dying" 31:19 - Any new projects coming?